TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

The Weeknd is officially the G.O.A.T ... at least, according to the folks at Guinness World Records, whose data shows he's officially the most popular artist on the planet!!!

Weeknd just broke 2 new records on Spotify ... one for most monthly listeners in Spotify history by breaching the 111-million mark, and another for being the first artist to breach the 100-million monthly listeners' mark in general.

He recently joined Michael Jackson as the only artist with multiple No. 1 songs from 3 of his albums ... thanks to his recently released "Die For You (Remix)" with Ariana Grande.

The 2020 track "Blinding Lights" is also the biggest song EVER ... achieving the most Spotify streams, and it's also the longest charting song on the Billboard Hot 100 of all time with a total of 90 weeks on the chart.

XXXTentacion's family can finally turn the page over his tragic murder now that 3 men were found guilty of killing him -- so says his mother ... who's relieved justice was served.

The late rapper's mom, Cleopatra Bernard, tells TMZ ... she and her brood are grateful the jury delivered a guilty verdict, and thankful prosecutors were able to secure it through their work at trial. She says this has given them closure and will allow them to move forward in peace.

We're told she's also sending love and thanks to all of XXX's supporters ... who showed up for him in a variety of ways during this saga -- both digitally and, in some cases, in person.

As for whether Cleopatra anticipated this outcome, she tells us she actually did ... and went into court Monday expecting all three defendants would be found guilty of murder -- which, of course, they were after about 2 weeks of deliberations. She was also wearing an XXX shirt.

Cleopatra says the experience has been gut-wrenching but is glad it's all over now.

One last thing from Cleopatra here -- she tells us that the attempt to rope Drake into this trial from the defense side was a transparently desperate ploy just to raise doubt -- and insists she and her loved ones always knew who was responsible for her son's death.

Young Dolph was planning to expand his Paper Route Empire into the world of TV and film before he died ... a strategy the late rap star expressed to his team in this newly released footage.

In the conclusion of “Love For the Streets,” a track that appears on Dolph's posthumous LP "Paper Route Frank," Dolph toasts golden champagne bottles with his PRE team, urging them to get their life affairs in order for their 2021 takeover.

Unfortunately, Dolph was shot and killed in November of that year but his team has been keeping his name going strong with exhibits like his pop-up museum and drops like the new music video ... which also goes the distance in showing off his fleet of camouflaged luxury whips.

The 3 men accused of killing XXXTentaction have just been found guilty of murder in the 2018 shooting.

The verdicts came in Monday for Michael Boatwright, Trayvon Newsome, and Dedrick Williams. The decisions follow the jury's deliberations, which started March 8.

As we reported, 20-year-old XXX was at a South Florida motorcycle dealership almost 5 years ago when prosecutors say he became the victim of a robbery -- getting shot while in his vehicle. They say the men ran off with $50K in cash and a Louis Vuitton bag.

The 3 were charged with first-degree murder with a firearm and armed robbery ... and in closing arguments last month, defense attorney Joseph Kimok claimed evidence clears all 3 men from the crime -- saying the DNA found on the rapper's body and necklace didn't belong to them.

You'll recall, a 4th man named Robert Allen was also arrested in connection to the killing ... but he pled guilty last year to second-degree murder and agreed to testify against the other 3 suspects, adding he was hesitant about the robbery and even asked the others to ditch the idea in the moment.

In a discovery and bail hearing for Allen back in 2018, surveillance video from the dealership was shown -- which appeared to show the entire thing going down in real time.

Rick Ross is grateful one of his neighbors is pointing out he has a problem with stray pets ... a few of his cattle and bison are roaming a little too freely.

Rick says he always manages to corral the livestock on his "Promise Land" estate ... no easy feat, seeing as how the property sits on 235 acres of land. Rozay compares it to the popular TV series "Yellowstone" ... AKA it's the wild wild west when it comes to the wildlife!!!

The level of damage the bison caused to the neighbor's yard doesn't seem like the equivalent of returning a lost pooch ... but the MMG rapper explained they're actually peaceful animals that will graciously accept carrots on request!!!

We broke the story -- one of Rick's neighbors of his Fayetteville estate grew INFURIATED his bison were destroying her yard ... but he urged his neighbors to be courteous and reminded them to keep collars on their pets.

French Montana just got hit with a lawsuit stemming from a shooting that took place while he celebrated the release of his mixtape and filmed a music video ... an incident that left 10 people injured.

According to the suit, obtained by TMZ, French was filming the music video with fellow rapper Rob49 for their song, "Igloo," at The Licking in Miami Gardens in January.

The suit says French personally ordered the move to the restaurant after a robbery had occurred across the street involving production staff and unknown assailants. Plaintiff Carl Leon says he was asked to be an extra in the video and was present along with about 80 or so other crew members.

Leon says an "unknown individual caused severe injury to multiple people, including the Plaintiff."

He goes on to say the Miami Gardens PD investigated, concluding that French failed to get the necessary permits required by the city to ensure the set was safe and secure with proper police protection.

As you may recall, Police Chief Delma Noel-Pratt released a statement at the time, essentially blaming French and his crew for the shooting. The chief said French and Co. should have notified police beforehand so protocols would have been put in place to avert such violence.

French, his record label, Coke Boys, and the restaurant are all named defendants in the suit.

Leon's attorney, Josiah Graham of the Graham Injury Firm, filed the suit Monday. Leon is asking for more than $50,000 in damages, claiming the defendants were negligent.

Rick Ross has a home, a BIG one, where his pet buffalo roam ... yet the giant beasts still range onto his neighbor's yard, and she's worried because her young kids play outside.

The neighbor, who lives on a plot of land behind RR's Fayetteville, GA compound, tells TMZ ... the two buffaloes -- aka bison -- have wandered onto her property twice this week. Keep in mind, adult buffalo can tip the scales at around 2,000 lbs.!!!

She's worried they may pose a danger to her small children.

TMZ obtained video showing Rick's behemoth pets running through the neighbor's front yard ... and she says she came home from work to discover the wild scene.

She also snapped photos of the buffaloes grazing on the grass near a paved driveway full of parked cars.

Rick's neighbor says she went to the rapper's place to confront him about the buffaloes grazing on her property ... which turned into a verbal dispute with a member of Rick's team.

Unsatisfied with that interaction, she says her next step is filing a neighbor dispute with the city. She tried calling police, but they told her it's a civil dispute and didn't take a report.

In addition to the potential danger the roaming animals pose to the woman's kids, they also appear to be tearing up her yard. Definitely not as important, but it could still be costly.

Remember, Rick was gifted the bison last March and they are absolutely huge. He also has four horses and a bull. No deer or antelope, though.

Patrick Beverley's right -- at least, that's what Ja Rule is saying, telling TMZ Sports he believes Ja Morant is absolutely being poorly influenced by hip hop.

The Chicago Bulls guard made waves earlier this week by sayin' he believed rap and the culture surrounding it are contributing to Morant's recent missteps ... and when we got Ja Rule out at LAX this week, he couldn't have agreed more.

He said growing up he was influenced to smoke weed by Redman's "How To Roll A Blunt" -- and pressured to drink booze by Snoop Dogg's "Gin and Juice" ... and he made it clear, he thinks Morant is being similarly impacted by today's tunes.

But, the "Holla Holla" rapper told us he thinks Morant needs to quit all of that ASAP ... telling us, "that ain't the way."

"Go play ball, man," he said. "The streets ain't about nothing, man. Go grind on 'em. Keep balling. That's it, man."

Morant has been investigated by police at least three times in the past calendar year -- most recently when he was seen on video flashing a gun at a strip club earlier this month.

Each time, Morant has dodged charges ... though he admitted in a sit-down interview with Jalen Rose this week he needs to start making better choices.

"In the future," he told Rose, "I will show everybody who Ja really is, what I'm about and change this narrative."

Ja Morant's publicity problems are now costing NLE Choppa, whose new song was all set to be featured in a Powerade commercial ... that is, until the NBA star flashed a gun on camera.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ Hip Hop ... NLE's newest track, "Mo Up Front," was set to lead Ja and Powerade's "What 50% More Means" ad campaign. The TV spot was going to highlight the NCAA's March Madness tournament.

Those plans were scrapped, of course, in wake of Ja's infamous gun-waving video and subsequent eight-game suspension from the NBA ... thereby screwing NLE out of the commercial placement for his track.

Despite missing out on the national exposure, we're told the Memphis rapper is still a fan of Ja, and maintains a relationship with his hometown Grizzlies. He walked the team out onto the court for their home opener, so he's a diehard.

NLE is scheduled to partake in the team's celebrity basketball game on March 20 to benefit St. Jude's hospital. As for the music ... we're hearing he still has mo' heat in the can.

Avril Lavigne is looking iced out these days ... and the new, flashy jewelry around her neck comes courtesy of her new bf, Tyga.

Eric Mavani, a celebrity jeweler out of New York City, tells TMZ ... Tyga gifted Avril the custom diamond chain Thursday, and the piece is worth $80K.

Avril's already posted selfies flaunting the chain and was spotted wearing it Thursday night in Los Angeles.

We're told the bling features 50 carats of white diamonds, black diamonds and pink sapphires. Diversity matters! 💎😂

As you can see, the chain features several pendants ... one with Avril's first name, two with the letter "A" imposed over a pink heart, and a pair of skulls and crossbones with pink ribbons.

We're told Tyga reached out to Eric three weeks ago, right before Paris Fashion Week, to make the piece.

The timing is worth noting ... because Tyga and Avril started hanging out a lot more when they were in Paris, kissing for the cameras and strolling through the streets hand in hand.

TMZ broke the story ... Tyga and Avril are still in the early stages of dating, and they're not putting any labels ... like girlfriend/boyfriend on anything, at least not yet.

It will be interesting to see if the expensive diamond gift changes that.

Travis Scott's skills as a fashion innovator are coming under fire by Dennis Rodman ... who's accusing the superstar rapper of copying the look of his signature sneakers.

Dennis went after Travis at Got Sole's recent sneaker convention in Chicago as the NBA champ pointed out his high-top kicks originated the reverse Nike Swoosh logo before Travis' model hit the market.

The Worm's Nike Air Darwin shoe dropped in 1994, shortly before his days of playing with Michael Jordan and the Bulls. Travis and Jordan Brand connected for his popular mocha-colored AJ1 Retro High OG sneakers in 2019.

Dennis didn't seem to be a fan of Travis' shoe, and said he just wants his credit for putting out the design first.

Ja Rule is literally laughing out loud at Melle Mel's claims he ruined his own "New York" song by copying 50 Cent ... simply because the timelines don't add up!!!

The Furious Five rap legend recently accused Ja of mimicking 50's hood nature on the 2004 track, thus losing the NYC anthem race to Jay-Z and Alicia Keys' hit collab "Empire State of Mind" ... but Ja tells us his record did exactly what it was supposed to do on the charts.

Ja explains his song, which featured Fat Joe and Jadakiss, was a street anthem while Jay and Alicia's classic was created for mainstream platforms like radio -- but he's still proud of its legacy, peaking at No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100.

As for 50, Ja notes his career as a rapper-singer began first -- he says he laid the blueprint for 50's rap-singing success on songs like "21 Questions," but he adds ... Melle's earned the right to spew whatever opinion he wants.

He also bigged up another hip hop pioneer: KRS-One, whose 1990 "hundred guns, a hundred clips" lyrics fueled Ja's "New York" chorus.

Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott want to make their son's name change official in the eyes of the law ... TMZ has learned.

The famous parents filed new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, asking to switch the kiddo's name from Wolf Jacques Webster to Aire Webster.

The docs say Kylie and Travis are both on board with the change ... and they both signed the petition, which is now making its way through the courts.

In the docs, Kylie and Travis say they "regret the initial name choice of Wolf Jacques Webster. Now that Petitioners have had the chance to spend time with their baby, they believe the name Aire Webster is a better fit."

Remember ... Kylie and Travis announced in March 2022 they were scrapping their boy's original name, Wolf, because they felt like it didn't suit him. He had only been born a few weeks prior to the change of heart.

In January, a few weeks before the boy was set to celebrate his first birthday, Kylie revealed his new name, Aire. The name is of Hebrew origin and it reportedly means "Lion of God."

Kylie and Travis' first child is named Stormi ... so Aire fits in with his older sister's name.

Slim Thug’s key to staying rich is avoiding spending sprees on fancy clothes -- the Houston Boss Hogg admits he has no issue rocking discount threads ... even in da club.

Slim gave his fans a masterclass -- with more than a dash of homophobia, though -- as he chastised dudes who flock to clubs wearing the same expensive designer outfits.

In his post Thursday, he said he keeps it playa for just pennies, and proved it ... yanking the price tags of his top and shorts to reveal he'd dropped less than $20 for both.

Seems like price isn't his only issue -- he also mentioned gay designers make all those high-priced clothes. Basically, Slim thinks Dior and Gucci shirts make people look gay.

Um, WTH? 🤔

Hard to take his advice on saving cash, since he also bragged about dropping millions on jewelry to distract from his frugal fashion choices.

ST says he's seen many rappers go broke splurging on their wardrobes. Yeah, we're sure it's the clothing bill and not the bling.

Anyway, fans found Slim's message confusing ... considering the rapper's selling cargo pants for $75 on his own website!!!

DJ Khaled can now add "model" to his always-growing résumé ... after making his runway debut at Hugo Boss’ fashion show last night in Miami.

Khaled bravely risked becoming a trending topic as he floated across a wet and slippery catwalk ... but never lost his footing, even while he escorted supermodel icon Naomi Campbell to the finish line.

After the show, Khaled celebrated with his team like they just won a championship, but he was likely most happy not to fall on his face.

The "We The Best" mogul shared the runway with other high-profile figures ... Pamela Anderson, Amber Valletta, Candice Swanepoel and celebrity stylist Law Roach ... who made his first public appearance after announcing his retirement due to "political corruption" within the fashion industry.

Vogue magazine praised everyone for braving the event's high winds but Khaled has officially been bit by the model bug.

Expect him to be back!!!

Mod Sun has seriously loyal fans who have his back in the breakup with Avril Lavigne ... and they proved it in NYC with a profanity-laced chant toward Avril's new love interest, Tyga.

Rapper Travie McCoy set it off when he got onstage during Mod's Wednesday night show at Irving Plaza. Before they rocked out to the Gym Class Heroes hit 'Cupid's Chokehold,' Travie called his buddy Mod one of the most loyal dudes he knows.

Seemed to be going in a sweet direction, but then Travie couldn't let the opportunity to blast Avril's new guy pass -- he yelled, "F*** Tyga!"

Mod ran to the back of the stage in shock, but with a big smile on his face ... and then the crowd joined in, chanting Travie's choice of words -- which might perfectly reflect Mod's feelings.

TMZ broke the story -- Avril broke off her engagement last month to Mod Sun just a few days after he kicked off his tour ... and soon after, she immediately started a new romance with Tyga.

We're told Mod was completely blindsided by the breakup -- and that goes double for her quick jump to Tyga.

Mod's fans are doing their best to hold him up.